January is National Radon Action Month. On a previous post and podcast, we talked to Dr. Bill Field, a public health professor and researcher who is an expert in the study of radon and its links to lung cancer. Sometimes these things can seem “theoretical,” but in my world, I see when the statistics become people, when the toxins in the air sicken or kill an individual, beloved by their friends and family. For this post and podcast, I talked to someone whose life has been shaped significantly by radon, a cancer-causing gas. Will Graff is a home inspector, and I sincerely appreciate all the efforts he makes to educate his clients about radon, since many people will likely learn about radon from home inspectors and the home-buying process, not doctors.
Radon is a very personal topic for Will. His mother, Katherine Graff, was a very healthy person. She worked as a dietician, was active, and never smoked. She loved crafting and quilting in the basement of his childhood home.
Will reports that she was a woman full of life, and a very loving grandmother to his nephews. She developed a worsening cough over a couple of months, and when she went to the doctor, she was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. Lung cancer is a particularly insidious disease, because it frequently causes no symptoms until it is beyond cure. Stage IV lung cancers remain incurable, and sadly, Katherine Graff died within a couple months of her diagnosis, leaving a stunned and grieving family behind. Will reports that he and his family had really never heard about radon before his mother’s diagnosis. They tested the house after her diagnosis, and found the radon level elevated over 20 pCi/L (EPA action level is 4 pCi/L, and the WHO advises over 2.7 pCi/L). Sadly, this made Will’s mother one of the thousands of people in the US who die of radon-related lung cancer annually.
Between 16,000 and 24,000 never-smokers die every year in the US from lung cancer, and protracted radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer in never smokers and those without heavy second hand smoke exposure. This is what I see every day. When a “statistic” becomes a living, breathing, beloved mother and grandmother in my office or ICU. Think about the loss of people in your own life or in the lives of your friends and loved ones. Often, there is nothing we can do once a disease manifests itself, but frequently there are simple, and relatively inexpensive upstream choices we can make as an individual, a family, or a community to decrease the likelihood of another loved one becoming a “statistic.”
Talking to Will brought back so many memories for me of caring for my patients with lung cancer and their families. I can picture Will sitting in a doctor’s office or at a hospital bedside with his mother, tensely waiting for terrible news and looking for any hope or options to change the damage and disease that was set in motion with breaths taken by his mother decades before. This is the tragedy of radon- it is silent, odorless, and we are often unaware of it until it is too late. It was also sad to hear about Will’s experience with others denying that radon contributed to his mother’s death. This happens all too often with other causes of disease- one can never pinpoint exactly what caused any one individual’s cancer, and since these are often inconvenient truths, people try to cast blame in other places because we don’t want it to be true. It is human nature. From the child of someone with a lifelong smoking habit passionately asserting that it was not the tobacco but the workplace fumes that caused lung cancer, to people denying to Will that his non-smoking mother who spent years in a high radon environment could have lung cancer from her basement. The final straw for any one illness is currently impossible to pinpoint with 100% certainty, but we can get very close. Even if any one cancer is not caused by a particular carcinogen, we know that a certain percentage of them are. We also know that if we can reduce cancer-causing chemicals, we can save lives, even if we can never pinpoint those lives who were saved.
Will has shared his sadness publically that though his mother made it to his wedding, she has not been able to be a grandmother to his child. He has also shared his own concerns, since he grew up in the house with the radon level that was greater than 5 times the EPA action limit and 7 times the WHO action limit. He and his brother actually slept in the basement, where his mom had passed so much time quilting. What will that mean for him and his family?
For the month of January, my donation and action ask is to consider joining my Fight for Air Climb for the American Lung Association! This is usually an event where people come together and climb a skyscraper or other monument in their town together. Obviously this will be a remote event this year, but still a lot of fun! You can join from anywhere in the world, and climb your way wherever you are, whether on steps, a hill, or on flat ground if you like. The event date is February 14th, but since it is a distanced event, there will be options to complete your climb on a different day. If you don’t want to climb, you can also just donate to support the team! You can here to join or donate, and help the ALA spread the word on radon and continue to supply inexpensive testing kits!
TLDR= Test your home for radon!
Things You Can Do
- Ensure your home is tested for radon– test every 2 years if you have not mitigated radon and after home upgrades. More information here
- If you need help with mitigation costs, call 1-800-SOS-RADON or go here
- Find out what your local radon laws are- consider advocating for protective standards
- The EPA estimates around 1 in 5 schools may have elevated radon levels in at least one frequently-occupied room. Find out if your child’s school has been tested for radon and whether it has been mitigated, particularly if close to or over the EPA action level of 4.0 pCi/L
- Join the Air Health Our Health Fight for Air Climb! Climb on your own terms, your own way, and raise money for the ALA! Or just donate to support our efforts if you don’t want to climb.
References:
EPA Video– where Will Graff shares his story
Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. (CRCPD) Radon Leaders.Org- “Reducing the Risk From Radon.” document for Health Care Professionals, source of table
